Island feeling

Hot again, and, today pure sun and dark blue skies. By streetcar we went to The Ontario Legislative Building first, seat of the province's parlimanent. Opened newly in 1909 in Richardsonian Romanesque style, it was the meeting place of Ontario's Legislature since 1893. Just this morning, they were hoisting a huge Canada Flag at the front fassade for Canada Day on July 1, celebrating the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867.

The campus of the University of Toronto "U of T" is closeby, connected by Queen's Park. The university is considered a global leader in research and teaching. The main campus, the St. George campus, is conveniently located in downtown Toronto. Other buildings and more campuses are spread out all over Greater Toronto, attended by over 68,400 students.

 

 

What a luxury: lunch (salmon) in the air-conditioned restaurant of the Chelsea Hotel with an old friend of us. We have stayed here several times before. The Chelsea is the largest hotel in Canada with 1,590 rooms, located in downtown. Photo on the right, below, shows more fantastic modern architecture there.

On to Jack Layton Ferry Terminal by subway to catch a ferry to the  Toronto Islands - also called the Island, or Toronto Island Park. Located in Lake Ontario it's only a 13-minute, inexpensive ferry ride from downtown Toronto. And, it was a first for us, too!  

 

 

The Island is actually a group of 15 islands inter-connected by pathways and bridges. There are swimming beaches, sports facilities, bike, canoe and kayak rentals, a marina, an amusement park, a historic church, a trout pond, a lighthouse and much more.

 

There are three routes, we took the ferry to Ward's Island, which was a good decision. It is the  most residential of the Toronto Islands, with a small beach and a beautiful, shady, green boardwalk along the lakefront. From there we walked approximately 5 kms to Hanlan's Point. 

 

Centre Island with the Centreville amusement park is located about half-way, and more of a hub for families and fun. There are gardens, a family farm, a pier and family beaches as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop: Gibraltar Point Beach and Lighthouse, the best beach in our opinion! Wish we would have had more time and a bathing suit.

 

 

Hanlan's Point is located west of Centre Island - closest to the Bishop airport - and officially recognized as "Clothing Optional". Also, Hanlan's Point is the oldest surviving queer space in Canada, with nearly a  century of queer history.  

Departure from Hanlan's Point:

 

We spent a wonderful couple of hours on the islands, and, though we were sweaty and exhausted at the end, it was a great day which ended in ,,, another brewery: Left Field. We had a tasting and tour there at 6 pm and enjoyed the rest of the evening on our patio. Last evening in Toronto!

Historic and Modern, authentic and fancy

Up  early on Sunday morning, hot, hot, hot, and humid, over 30 deg. C!  Took the streetcar into town (about 45 min) and walked over to Fort York, at the harbourfront, to inspect progress at the new Bentway Park, photo below, underneith the highway first:

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,,, and, of course, had to visit Fort York again, the place where British soldiers, First Nations warriors and Upper Canadian militiamen stood together against the United States and its mission to capture Toronto in the War of 1812.

Under the Bentway: a movable forest, quite unique:

On to the harbourfront, first, passing Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (on an island!), then the Canada Malting Silos - one of two remaining silos, built in 1928 and abandoned in the 1980s.

Fronting on Toronto's inner harbour, the Toronto Music Garden is one of the city's most enchanted locations. The park design is inspired by Bach's First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello, with each dance movement within the suite corresponding to a different section of the garden.

Robin

 

Steamwhistle Brewing was one of the pioneers in Toronto's brewing scene. It's located at the historic John Street Roundhouse, adjacent to the Railroad Museum:

Confronting all the modern architecture: The historic Royal York Hotel (above).

Very clean and convenient: the subway. Union Station (above) got a facelift a couple of years ago and is an important hub for trains and metro (subway) as well as a gathering point thanks to a great foodcourt and shops.

On to Bloor Street, the "fancy" shopping mile with three great museums, first: ROM (Royal Ontario Museum with its spectacular Frank Gehry prism), second, the Gardiner (ceramics) and, third, the Bata Shoe Museum, where they had two special exhibitions about the history of cowboy boots and artistic sneakers.

Yorkville, adjacent to Bloor Street, offered a special treat on this weekend: Jazz Festival. On different stages concerts took place and, in the shade, we listened to some up-and-coming bands:

Around Bloor Street a lot of modern architecture is to be admired. Wondering who can afford to rent or buy all these fancy condos and apartments,,,

Downtown's Yonge Street above, a mix of old and new, run-down and state-of-the art.

Called it a day in the late afternoon and took the streetcar back to our Eastern neighborhood. Boy, it has been real hot today, hottest day this year so far! Stopped at Avling again and had a drink and a bite to eat before we walked over to the Beach to notice a strong contrast to what we had before. Beach was packed!

On the walk to our AirBnB: notice the little "Gartenzwerg" - dwarf?

A great market and The Westside of Toronto

First stop on Saturday morning: St. Lawrence Market, one of the best assorted markets in the world. It is divided in one big market hall, the South Market, and another modern building to the North for a Farmers Market on Saturday and an Antiques Market on Sunday. 

The historic hall on the left photo contains over 120 specialty vendors of all kinds on two levels. With the exeption of Monday, the market hall is open every day.

The new North Market building (below) only opened in May 2025 and is primarily known for its Saturday Farmers' Market, a tradition begun on this site in 1803 with producers of Southern Ontario - among them Amish and Mennonites - bringing their seasonal produce to the city.

Fantastic  variety and quality of produce, from sausages and meat to fish and cheeses, baking goods, veggies and fruits, dry goods, household items and much more:

After having bought some dinner items at the market we left for Graffiti Alley in Queen West, officially called "Rush Lane". This three-block, 1-km long alleyway is known for excellent street art. But,,, frankly, there are many other neighborhoods in town with excellent murals, just not in this accumulation.

Ossington was next, a Westside neighborhood, which completely surprised us: very vibrant, creative and "hipp". Live music, cafés, bars, restaurants lining up - seems to be a real hotspot for young people - and is easily walkable. 

Even better than West Queen West, another adjacent neighborhood, which is similar, but not as "packed".

Little Portugal, our next stop, nowadays does not havea whole lot to do with Portugal anymore. There is a main square (photo further below) with a cultural center, but for the rest the area is rather mixed, as are many neighborhoods in Toronto now.

On the way back to our AirBnB in the late afternoon - it was very humid and warm all day, but mostly cloudy – we first stopped at the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is in a rather ugly industrial neighborhood, and at nearby Henderson Brewery (closed) before we took the streetcar to the Allan Gardens. This indoor botanical garden features five greenhouses: Arid, Tropical, Palm, Orchid & Bromeliad and Temperate and is well worth the visit.

And, last, but not least: Peter got his new Tilley Hat! His old one, which we bought on one of our first visits, like at least 15 years ago, doesn't look so good anymore and we bought a new model. This legendary Canadian company is known for durable outdoor hats, but carries clothing, too, in the meantime. Called it a day on our patio then, catching up with work, photos and notes.